Three years after moving to Kingston from Nunavut’s capital city Iqaluit, Polar Man has continued his life as a real-life superhero.

Hi real name is Derek Emmons, but for years he has gone by his “superhero” persona: Polar Man.

He’s a common sight on Montreal Street and in downtown Kingston, and on many a bitter winter morning, Polar Man could be spotted walking down Montreal Street in his black-and-white, short-sleeved outfit, demonstrating an almost superhuman tolerance for the cold.

On Friday, he was downtown at the opening of Sesqui’s movie Horizon 360.

“Kingston is a bigger place than Iqaluit and in Iqaluit you are limited in what you can do,” he said Friday at the opening of the Sesqui film event.

“When I heard about this event, there is no way they could have brought that igloo up to Iqaluit.”

A victim of childhood bullying himself, when Emmons was 14 he was putting together a Lone Ranger Halloween costume when he looked out the window and saw a boy getting attacked outside.

“While I was putting together that outfit, I looked out the window and I saw a kid outside get shoved to the ground and another kid sitting on top of him,” he said. “I went out and I scared the other kid off, I completely forgot I was wearing a mask when I was doing that.

“When the kid told his mother that a superhero saved him, I thought ‘why not take it from there and see how far I can go with it,’” he said.

Thus, Polar Man was born. And 25 years later he is still wearing the mask and, like most superheroes, Polar Man attracts attention wherever he goes.

When he was in Iqaluit, he was the subject of a documentary film by Meridian VR, the company that filmed Sesqui’s movie Horizon 360, currently showing in Kingston.

His departure from Iqaluit in late 2014 was reported by CBC News.

Since moving to Kingston, he has continued to try to do good deeds.

“I did do some shovelling for people last winter,” Polar Man said. “I talk to kids about bullying like I have always done — stranger danger, things like that.”

Polar Man said he and other real-life superheroes, such as the Brampton Batman, The Katalysts and the Trillium Guard of Ontario, don’t fight crime with aggression but rather try to do good deeds and set a good example.

“We’re not the vigilantes that the movies make us out to be. We’re nothing like the movie Kick Ass they said was based on real-life superheroes.” Polar Man said.

“That was just a stupid movie in comparison to what we do in real life. We don’t go around having gang fights. It’s more helping people. If you are stuck on the side of the road, if you need shovelling done.”